Advertising

Creativity is in your nature. Helping you turn it into an advertising career is in ours.

As an advertising major, you’ll learn the creative and professional skills needed for careers in business and industry. Our Bachelor of Arts degree in advertising gives you a strong background in writing, research, digital and emerging media, and professionalism. Upon graduation, you’ll be qualified for positions in the creative and account sides of advertising within businesses, agencies and media. You’ll also complete a 300-hour capstone internship experience to practice and refine your skills.

Greenlee School advertising students have interned at Flynn Wright, MARC USA, Hearst Digital, Gannett Digital, Leo Burnett Worldwide and many other agencies, businesses and media outlets.

Advertising minor

Our advertising minor requires only 15 credits, with the opportunity to choose your electives from engaging course topics such as advertising media planning, sports and digital media, world communication systems and more.

This minor is not available to students who already have a primary major in the Greenlee School.

General requirements

To receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in advertising, a student must earn at least 120 credits. These include general education course requirements in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). A minimum of 72 credits must come from courses other than ADVRT, JLMC or PR. At least 50 of these credits must come from the liberal arts and sciences. Overall, at least 45 credits must be from 3000-level courses or above.

Concurrent degree program

Juniors can apply to and earn a B.A. in advertising and an M.S. in journalism and mass communication in fewer semesters. Contact the director of graduate education for more information on the Greenlee School’s 4+1 Program.

Experiences

As an advertising major, we’ll help you make connections on campus right away through our Greenlee learning communities. You can also get involved with student media clubs and organizations where you can flex your creativity, add to your professional portfolio and enjoy fun professional development activities. The Advertising Club helps you launch your creative career by collaborating on real-life projects, networking with professionals and visiting local ad agencies. The club also takes an annual spring trip to tour advertising agencies in cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City and others.

Iowa State also has over 800 student organizations for academic interests, hobbies, volunteerism, intramural sports and more – and all of the clubs on campus need support from creative communicators!

Whether you compete in a case competition or find your people through a campus publication, community is in the making here.

Your future in the making

Your advertising major can prepare you for a variety of career opportunities in the creative fields. You can combine the art of persuasion and the power of creative messaging to promote products, services and brands while driving organizational success. Equipped with a strong foundation in market research, consumer behavior and creative strategy, our graduates are well-prepared to excel in roles that shape public perception and engagement. Here are just some examples of the careers you can pursue with a degree in advertising:

• Advertising account executive
• Creative director
• Media planner
• Brand strategist
• Copywriter
• Digital marketing specialist
• Art director
• Social media coordinator

Get to know the LAS career services team to help you explore the many career opportunities a degree in advertising can open for you.